What Gain Was Theirs
by Corvis Greenleaf
Summary: One-shot. What took place between two unlikely characters after the battle at Helm's Deep. Movie verse.


Haldir paced. There was nothing else that he could do to relieve the tension he felt. Something was wrong; he could feel it in his bones. It was slowly driving him mad, as he couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary. But that no longer mattered, his instincts were telling him that something was coming.

He stayed his watch at the border, waiting, anticipation building. There was nothing he knew of that he could do to quell this feeling, so he shifted his eyes from tree to tree and waited. Something was coming.

It was with no surprise that the caravan approached. Haldir raised his eyes to see the broad shouldered men as they approached. He signaled to the rest of the guard and they moved in closer. Haldir knew the armor of these men, and he realized that they were of the Rohirrim. But why on Arda were they this far away from Edoras, riding in full battle adornments?

Haldir was troubled and the anxiousness he felt in his gut threatened to rise over and spill. He took a moment, and started forward. As custom, the visitors were held at arrow point until Haldir cleared them as friend or foe.

Haldir approached the caravan and looked at the first man. It was Eomer. He had fought at Helm's Deep with the man, and remembered those dark eyes as the Man had pulled him off the wall. All others had given up hope of him, and he was badly wounded. That was the last time that Haldir had seen the man. Now face to face with him, his old strength returned to him, he remembered focusing on those eyes. The strength in the man's arms as he carried past the Lorien guard that had counted him dead. How he had argued with the women for treatment. How he had brushed the tangled and bloodied hair away from Haldir's face and gave him a most concerned and yet comforting look.

Haldir shook those thoughts away. That was another time, another place. They held no weight here, protecting the borders of the Golden Wood. He paused for a moment, looking up into the Man's eyes. There was a flicker of recognition, but before the man could say anything, Haldir spoke.

"What business gathers the Rohirrim to Lothlorien?" Haldir tried to keep the emotion in his voice in check. Only another Elf could sense the unsteadiness of his voice. Rumiel raised an eyebrow at him, but there was no way to communicate to his brother that this indeed was the man that had pulled him, barely alive from the mangled mass of corpses and stayed beside him as he healed. All he could do was ignore his brother's questioning look and wait for the Man to answer.

"Did you not receive a messenger before our arrival?" Eomer's brow furrowed as he wondered what had befallen the three men that set out more than five days time in front of them.

"We have heard nothing." Haldir lowered his bow, and the rest of the company followed suit. He also wondered why there had been no sign of any messengers to announce their arrival. He raised his head at the man, not wanting to show that the feeling in his gut had grown stronger. Instead a façade of arrogance schooled his features.

Eomer's face gave away his worries, his features knitted in worry over what could have happened. He would investigate the matter further, but in the meantime he explained himself and what he and his men were doing standing at the border.

"We come here to pay our respects for your losses at Helm's Deep." Eomer easily slid down from his horse and bowed his head to Haldir.

Haldir was mildly surprised. There had been a feast after the battle, but the Elves were not in attendance. Nor was Eomer for that matter. He had stolen away shortly after the silence for his men and made his way to the healing chambers.

_Such beauty, almost lost. And all for the better of Men. What was their gain in this matter? None. Wake, please wake, and show me that all hope has not truly been lost._

Haldir's eyes never left the Man, but his thoughts spiraled to the bits and pieces of conversation that was had over him as he healed. He could hear Eomer's powerful whispers as he healed.

"We welcome you then. There are not many of us left. But we will prepare a feast to honor both our losses. Haldir gestured for his brothers to lead the men further into the Golden Wood, and he himself led Eomer away.

There was a small flurry as Men moved forward, and Elves disappeared back into the shadows of the trees. Haldir walked in silence next to the Man and led him to where he would stay.

"I trust you will find everything you need inside. I'll send for you shortly after you have bathed and rested, that we may better plan this impromptu feast. Haldir nodded his departure and left the Man alone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eomer contemplated the Elf seated in front of him. There were so many questions he had, but he waited for him to speak. Haldir had already sent out a group of guards to search the area for the missing messengers, and they waited for word from them. Haldir assured Eomer that his men would be accounted for.

Now all that hung between the men was a heavy silence. Eomer thought back to the vigil that he had held over the fallen Elf, and wondered what he remembered, if anything, of that time. Haldir thought back to the same moments and wondered if it were better that he forgot all that was said and moved on. Haldir acted as though nothing had happened, although he knew that he should be grateful to the Man for retrieving him.

The silence stretched on. Both looked at each other. Surely, they were both capable of having the hardest of talks, they were both in positions of power, but what made this conversation so hard for them to speak the words?

Abruptly both voices rose. They gave a small chuckle and gestured for the other to begin. Their movements were so alike that another laugh followed.

Eomer's eyes grew serious. "I insist, Master Elf, I am a guest. Please, ask what you would."

Haldir faltered. He opened his mouth as though to speak, but shut it again. He wondered how he could ask the questions that raced through his mind. There was so much else to talk of, the messengers, the feast, how could he ask what he thought to be so trivial?

Eomer could not help but see the Elf's trouble, and he waited patiently. He realized that Haldir remembered more than he previously thought of those nights. His eyes gave him away. Eomer watched his perfect bow shaped mouth open and close again and he spoke.

"Please, ask what you need to know. I'll answer what I can." The Man's voice was loud in the small chamber. Haldir's was near a whisper.

"How did you know that all life had not left me? What made you help me?" Haldir didn't look at the Man's eyes.

"You asked me to." Eomer's voice replied simply.

*~~***~***~***~***~***~***~***

"Retreat! Back to the Keep!" Aragorn's voice cried over the crescendo of battle that reached Haldir's ears. He eyed the Man as he pulled everyone back away from the wall. It was lost. Haldir shouted to his Elves to follow, pull back, this battlement was lost.

Slowly, they all started to fight their way back to safety, but they were all surrounded. Haldir waited for the last Elf to pass and started to follow. He felled one Orc, but another had come behind him.

Before the blade even touched him, he could hear the sharpened edge whistling through the air. He looked to Aragorn, knowing that it was to be a fatal blow. He could smell the Orc behind him, and lamented that this was the last his fine-tuned nose would ever know. Not the ancient trees of his home, but the foul smell of this creature. He fell to his knees and was vaguely aware that Aragorn now held him in his arms.

They said nothing as they looked at each other. Haldir could feel his life dripping out of him, onto the man, and he looked all around him. Desperate to see something other than the mayhem, one last sight of peace before his eyes dimmed forever. But there was nothing but corpses and death. And the last sense he had was lost.

The next memory he had was of Eomer. His eyes watched as the man traveled from body to body, paying silent respect for the Elves of the Wall that had come to his people's aid. Never in his lifetime could he ever hope to repay for these lives lost. And for what? Hopelessness had risen in the Man more and more as he passed each body. And then he was close to Haldir.

Haldir tried to move. To blink. But his body simply would not listen. He didn't understand why he was not dead yet. There was no reason for him to linger here, bleeding on this wall. Why had he not been delivered? Eomer came closer, a concerned look spread over his face. He came inches from the Elf, and bless Elbereth, Haldir could smell the musky aroma of the man! He could feel the heat that emanated from the man. He blinked and stared at the man, willing his body to give him some sign that he was alive. But his body refused.

Eomer had been shocked. Certainly that had been movement in the Elf's eyes? He grasped the armor and removed it, exposing a pale chest. He laid his ear to it and listened. There it was, faint, but steady. This Elf was not lost, but nearly there. And the wounds that he carried were dire. He yelled for the Men with him to come quickly, but there were few left. Impatient with the wait, Eomer had gently lifted the Elf up himself. There it was again, that small movement. And then those lips had spoken.

"Do not let me die."

It was not a command; Eomer noted the struggle within the voice. It was a plea. There was no release for this Elf, surely if he were to die, he would have done so by now. Something kept this Elf here, and Eomer knew that he had to assist him as soon as possible. He ran for the keep, yelling for healers as he went.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~

Haldir gasped at the answer and his reverie. He had indeed asked for the Man's help. Haldir, Marchwarden of Lothlorien had asked, not only asked, but pleaded for the Man's help. And Eomer had helped him more than he could ever know.

Haldir looked at the Man and again words failed him. He was frustrated with himself for loosing rein of his emotions. Death and healing were common in battle, why was this so hard? Because he argued with himself, even your own had lost hope for you, but this man didn't give up. He even went so far as to put faith into you.

"You did all those things, said all those words, why? You stayed with me when others would not." Haldir had given up calculating words and switched to candidly speaking. There was no other way to work through this. Messengers and banquets could wait; this was of the most importance to Haldir.

"Because I had to know that there was beauty beyond battle, a flame that was not blown out. I looked to you as a salvation." Eomer said softly. He too had forgone the cautious words and sought to make his intentions clear. "You became a beacon for me when things became dire, a siren to call on in memory when it seemed that all hope was lost."

"I was nothing more that a soothing memory in battle?" Haldir asked.

Eomer shook his head. "No, you were much more than that." He replied.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"He needs attention now!" Eomer shouted; the Elf cradled in his arms. He made his way over to a makeshift cot and rested Haldir on it. Women had emerged from the Sparkling Caves and started about; bandaging what they could, healing where they were needed, glad to finally have something to do.

Two women approached and Eomer helped them as they rolled the Elf to his stomach. The wound was enormous and Eomer saw the light dim in their eyes. One shook her head and turned away. Eomer pulled her back.

"You will work on his as though he was your own son!" He had fought to keep the anger out of his voice and when the woman saw that he was Eomer, nephew of Theoden, she did as she was told and started to work.

Eomer didn't leave. Why he had stayed was a mystery even to him, but there was a need in him to see this wound treated to the very end. Whatever way it went. Once the bandages were in place, Haldir was lost in a sea of cloth, covering his chest and his arm. The smell of healing herbs was strong in the air and all that was left to do was wait. One of the women warned him that if he made it through the night, there would be hope.

Aragorn had come later in the night, around the time that Haldir burned with fever. Aragorn's face had been a grim specter on the other side of the cot. He warned that an Elf rarely sweated, nor shook in the throes of fever. This was a bad sign.

It was that time that Eomer had taken the Elf's hand and muttered his words of encouragement. Aragorn had noted the gesture and faded back into the shadows and out the door. Nothing that they could offer was more potent than what the man was doing for the Elf. He pushed the still tangled and bloody hair away from Haldir's face and peered into his eyes.

Haldir had been awake, although assumed he was lost in a dream. He could see all the things that the Man was doing for him, but there was no way to break the reverie that his mind had trapped him in. Legolas came as Eomer was taken by sleep. He had helped the Man get comfortable and brought him a cover. He had looked into Haldir's eyes and seemed to see the struggle that raged beneath them. He nodded and grasped Haldir's hand, and then was gone from the room.

There was a space of time that night when darkness took his mind, and he still could not remember what had happened in that span of time. He remembered the agony as he tried to speak in the darkness. His throat parched and bloody, he had called out. And then there had been peace.

*~*~*~**~*~*~*~**~*~*~***~

Eomer remembered that first guttural moan that escaped the Elf before him. It was an awakening for him. It was a cry of pain, yes, but also had fight in it. There was hope yet.

"As the sun rose that morning and hit your face, you spoke, Haldir." Eomer recalled.

"I remember naught but of that first cry." Haldir admitted. He needed to know what was said in that time, he was sure that in that moment of peace he had spoken, but the words were not in his memory, just the feelings that grasped him.

Eomer carried on with the story. "I spoke, trying to encourage you to come back, and I said"

"Such beauty, almost lost. And all for the better of Men. What was their gain in this matter? None. Wake, please wake, and show me that all hope has not truly been lost." Haldir finished for him.

Eomer nodded. "And you replied to me. After I spoke, you replied."

Haldir waited, knowing what was to come, but wanting to hear the Man say it.

"Do not lament my beauty lost, Son of Man, for I am alive. All is not lost, I am the hope that you seek." Eomer softly finished.

~*~*~*~~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~~*~*~

There had been brilliance. It rushed at him like a blinding light and he felt strong hands run over his body. They cleansed him and restored him. They placed words in his throat and pushed them out with a breath of calming wind. Kissed by the Valar and blessed with a life that was restored, Haldir basked in that golden light. He was at peace, but was not perished.

He felt an abundance of this newfound glory and radiated it like a candle. When next he opened his eyes, there was Eomer, the sunlight behind him, crowning him with the same golden light that emanated from his own skin. And he knew that their fates were as one. If one bled, the other would feel it. It was indescribable. Haldir kept a steady gaze on those eyes for as long as his strength would allow it, and then succumbed to the healing sleep that washed over him like a current.

And Eomer too had rested. The worst was over, and there was hope again in his life. Nothing was ever truly lost.

*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*~**~*~*

"Where do we go from here, Son of Man?" Haldir asked.

There was silence as the two pondered what was to come. Both had lived through it all, raised above the darkness that sought to engulf them. Haldir had taken Lord Celeborn's command over the Golden Wood, much as Eomer had succeeded Theoden as King of Rohan. What place did they hold together no, divided by realms and status?

"I would have what peace we have found together." Eomer stated.

Haldir didn't speak immediately, afraid that the man did not know the implications of what he had said. More afraid that said lightly, he would be dismissed later for a multitude of reasons. This was a pact that would change Haldir's fate forever, and he did not want the Man to think that he was doing it out of obligation.

"What peace would that be?" He asked, searching for any ill intention from the Man.

"To live as one, to know the light that you have brought to me. To stand shoulder to shoulder with you ever more." Eomer responded. Haldir could read no sign of falter from the man. He let a small smile come to his face.

"I would know the same." He replied.


End file.
